This invention relates to a door holder and, more particularly, to a device that normally holds the door in a manually set position but automatically closes the door in response to a control signal, such as a signal from a smoke or heat sensor.
It is frequently desirable for a door to be held in some manually set position between fully open and fully closed, but also to be readily moved from one point to another or fully closed. Some types of door closers can be set to hold a door at a desired position, normally fully open, but require adjustment of the closer mechanism to hold any other given, preset positions.
A separate, but related, aspect of door control involves automatic closing of the door upon occurrence of some dangerous situation in a building. One of the most serious and frequently occurring forms of danger in buildings is a fire. Any fire in any building is a threat to the lives of the occupants, but the most hazardous consequences of fire are in hospitals, nursing homes or other buildings occupied by ill, incapacitated or confined persons. These types of buildings are also most likely to provide doors that are kept partially or fully open so that the residents are readily observed by medical and other attendant personnel.